WYOMING -- City officials Monday reaffirmed their intent to ask voters next spring for a millage increase, while also leaving the door open to an income tax down the line.

Wyoming City Council convened before its normal business meeting to rehash budget talks from a retreat earlier this month when a 2-mill, 5-year tax request for police and fire was identified as a short-term fix for a widening deficit.

Some officials see an income tax as more sustainable long term, but agreed a millage may be less confusing and more amenable to voters.

Sam Bolt
"I don't think we have time to educate the public on an income tax at the present time," Mayor Pro-tem Sam Bolt said. "If we were to pass the millage, maybe two or three years from now we could roll that millage back and put the income tax on the ballot."

City Council member Kent Vanderwood asked for the meeting to clear up confusion from the retreat, where he was surprised officials charted a course to put a levy on the May ballot.

The council is expected to vote next month on whether to proceed, with five votes required to bring the request to voters.

City Council member Joanne Voorhees has voiced objections to any kind of new tax. City Council member Dan Burrill has concerns about passing a "scary" 2-mill levy when the economy's worse than when millage requests in 2004 and 2005 were refused.

Vanderwood said he's leaning toward voting to put the levy on the ballot, though he prefers an income tax.

"It sounds like we're saying that several of us think that might be a better long-term solution, but we're not quite ready for it," he said.

"Is it right not to pursue this income tax if it's the best just because we don't have time to educate?"

The proposed levy, which would cost the owner of a typical $150,000 house $150 annually, would raise about $4 million annually.

If passed, the tax would restore six police officer jobs and five firefighter posts cut in the first half of the current fiscal year.

As part of the plan, Wyoming also would begin merging its police and fire departments into a public safety department with cross-trained officers.

An income tax proposal (link: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/12/income_tax_increase_will_be_re.html) also would net an extra $4 million in annual revenue, combined with a 3-mill decrease in property taxes.

That plan would eliminate personal property taxes for businesses while shifting some of the tax burden to non-residents who work in Wyoming.

City residents would pay a 0.75-percent income tax, with a 0.375-percent tax levied on non-residents and corporations.

City Manager Curtis Holt said the average person in Wyoming would pay about the same under either tax plan, though most wealthier residents who are "probably more of a voter than others" would pay more under an income tax.

"That option is extremely confusing to the citizens," Holt said. "I think it's a great plan, but I think it's going to take a little more time to make sure we have all our ducks in a row.

"The biggest cut you're giving (with an income tax) is to business. You've got to somehow convince people that you're bringing jobs to our community. You've got to sell them on the cost in the short term."

Mayor Jack Poll said none of the tax options are best, though voters deserve the choice to pass a levy and maintain existing services while officials consider long-term solutions.

"We are making a decision to reduce services if we don't put anything on the ballot," he said. "By putting the five years on (the millage request), we're saying this is not the final solution.

"Five years gives us a chance to get a game plan. It gives us the opportunity to look for what gives us a sustainable future."